India's FIBA U18 Asia campaign ends with 43-89 quarterfinals loss to China

Putting on a defensive masterclass, the record 11-time champions restricted India to just one made field goal in the entire first quarter.

India boys’ uplifting U18 Asia campaign ended at the final eight stage, after a one-sided 43-89 loss to 11-time champion China.

The FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2024 is underway in Amman, Jordan.

Earlier, India had exceeded expectations by progressing to the quarterfinals on the back of a 64-62 win over favoured Lebanon.

Any fanciful hopes Indian fans may have had of yet another upset was snuffed out fairly quickly by China’s throttling defense.

China’s Incredible Size

China’s incredible size across all positions was a key factor in its easy quarterfinal win over India. Image credit - FIBA.com

Positionally taller across the board, China’s size was backed with a physicality, agility, skill, and team discipline that proved too much for a still-work-in-progress Indian side under new Head Coach Scott Flemming.

Consider this: among the four centers in the China roster, even the shortest - Hongze Wang (6’9”) - was a good two inches taller than India’s primary center Mohammad Ishan. [In case you are wondering, the other three Chinese centers towered at 6’10” (Sifeng Huan), 6’11” (Li Liu ) and 7’1” (Sinan Huan).]

The same size mismatch was also present among the forwards and guards, making it incredibly difficult for India to find any scoring whether from outside or in the paint.

India’s struggles from the field

India point guard Mirthun Vel Dhanasekar in action. Four Indian players - including Dhanasekar went scoreless - despite being on the floor for a combined 47 minutes. Image credit - FIBA.com.

Perhaps the most glaring evidence of China’s defensive prowess was that India’s first made field goal - a deep two-pointer by Gurmaninder Singh Sandhu - came with only 40 seconds left for the first quarter to end.

While scoring opportunities gradually opened up for India as the game progressed, it was still restricted to a measly 31% from the field as against 48% for China. China also had significantly higher shot attempts (73) compared to India (58).

India did well to match China in overall rebounding numbers, but its “USP” - turnovers - came back to haunt them. India gave away the ball a whopping 28 times leading to a 31-2 points differential in favour of China.

China’s deep bench was on full display - with 11 players getting 10 minutes or more. Image credit - FIBA.com.

China’s deep bench also stood out - with as many as 11 out of the 12 players - on the floor for at least 10 minutes or more. In contrast, India heavily relied on its starters led by captain Lavish (12 points), Sandhu (13 points) and Ishan (8 rebounds).

While every game at the Asia level is an opportunity to learn, this one was a reminder that India needs to improve its scouting for bigger players, from positions 1 to 5.

India (Gurmaninder Singh Sandhu 13 pts, Lavish 12 pts) lose to China (Li Liu 15 pts, Jiazheng Chen 13 pts, Boyuan Zhang 11 pts, Huafei Zhang 11 pts) 43-89 [7-28, 12-17, 8-27, 16-17]

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